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Watch Review: MAGRETTE Moana Pacific Chronograph PVD

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#1 · (Edited)
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Reviewer: Mike W. aka UKWolfeman
Watch Being Reviewed: Moana Pacific Chronograph PVD

Company Website: http://www.magrette.com/index.php
Emai: info@magrette.com
Telephone: +64 9 889 0303
Newsletter:
http://www.magrette.com/newsletter.php

History (Direct from Website at [url]http://www.magrette.com/our-story.php[/url]): "My vision of Magrette from the start has always been long term. It is a business I want to work in till a ripe old age. Flexibility is important. My business is set up so I can work with all my key people remotely. These include case maker, movement supplier, dial maker, metal band supplier, leather strap maker, buckle maker, photographer, copy writer, graphic designer & technical advisor. This is how MAGRETTE will continue to grow into the future."

Specifications:
Movement: Seagull TY-2901 (ST1901) Hand Wind Chrono (BASED ON THE VINTAGE VENUS 175) w/ Metal Movement Holder
Case diameter: 44mm excluding crown
Case finish: PVD (brushed and polished)
Bezel: Ceramic (polished)
Crown and Pushers: Screw down
Crystal: Sapphire (double domed), AR coating.
Water-resistance: 500m/1650ft Water resistant
Strap: 24mm Chocolate Brown Leather (standard)
Buckle: PVD brushed
Vintage Style Roll Case: Canvas
Limited Edition: 1000 pieces
Weight: 130 grams
Limited Edition: 1000 pieces
Price: $545 plus $30 shipping USD

Stock Photo:



Sample Donated for Review

First Impressions: I am not normally a fan of PVD watches but the Moana Pacific PVD Chrono was visually stunning at first glance. The first thing I noticed was the polished ceramic bezel. Happy to see several optional strap choices as well. Blown away is I guess the best way to put my first impression.

Packaging:As with all Magrette shipping is via EMS Express and for USA customers one can expect to see the package in 5-7 days tops from New Zealand. The watch box was bubble wrapped and sealed. The box used by Magrette is a branded pine box, with a sliding lid. Inside the pine outer box is the pouch which contains the watch and other accessories. The pouch has enough room for several watches if you store your accessories elsewehere. I would rate the packaging/presentation as extremely nice and quite different than many other companies and the utilization of the pouch provides the owner with a practical option for watch storage and travel.







Case (Crown Side): From this side of the cushion style case one can see the almost 8mm signed crown, as well as, the just over 5mm chronograph fuction pushers. All crowns are of the screw down variety and gear shaped for easy grasping. All crown engage smoothly and are very firm with no play. The case including the crown measures nearly 48mm.

The nice PVD finish of the case and the coin edge of the bezel can also be seen as well. There are both high polished and brushed surfaces of the PVD case which are extremely difficult to photograph. I am most pleased that when Magrette decided to produce a Moana Pacific chrono diver that they used all screw down crowns over other options.



Case (Non-Crown Side):Nothing extraordinary of note but some general comments follow. The diver has an approximate 52mm lug to lug measurement. The case thickness measures at around 15mm. The nicely finished PVD can be viewed from this side of the case as well. The diver has machined lug holes on each side of the case for much easier strap changes which I find highly preferable if screw bars are not being utilized.





Bezel, Dial and Hands:*A 60 clickbezel with a high polished Sapphire insert sits atop the Moana Pacific PVD Chrono diver. The bezel is more coin edged than gear shaped around the outer edge and easy to grasp for rotation. There is an ever so slight amount of play in the bezel but rotation is crisp and precise. The bezel is the 15 sec/min variety with lume pip at the 12. There is no lume on the other bezel markers. The bezel is just flat out striking and will most certainly be the first feature that catches your eye. Due to the high polish finish finger prints are inevitable so keep that shirt or polishing cloth handy.

The dial opening measures around 35mm. Beneath the AR coated 3mm double domed sapphire crystal rests a matte black dial. A black chapter ring surrounds the dial. The chapter ring is marked 05 to 55 with the 15, 30, and 45 being red in color as well as a red triangle at the 60. The other minute markers and numbers are what I would consider almost stealth in nature. As for the dial itself for a chronograph I would consider extremely clean, organized and uncluttered. Applied markers have been placed on the dial at every hour/minute position with numbers at the 12 and O6. Due to the chrono dial and small second dial the applied markers at the 3 and 9 are small double hash type markers. The markers contain significant amounts of C3 Superluminova. There is no date window on the dial. A small second hand dial is placed at the 9 while a 30 minute counter for the chrono function is placed at the 3. The subdials are both marked in white and provide a good color contrast with the dial.











Caseback: The case back contains specific specification information about the Diver such as Water Resistance, Sapphire crystal (front), serial number, model and origin. The case back is fitted with a mineral crystal for viewing the nicely decorated Seagull movement. The rear mineral crystal is 2mm in thickness and around 27mm in diameter.

Movement: The Seagull TY-2901 (ST1901) is based on the Venus 175 movement. The Venus 175 was a Swiss caliber that was designed sometime in the 1940's and used by well know watch brands. Based on reading various bits of information the Seagull is essentially a clone of the Venus and some parts would be considered interchangeable unless I am just reading the available information incorrectly.

The movement is visually stunning as it is well finished. The jewels and furnace blued screws throughout the movement are quite visible. The movement has been as accurate as one can expect over a 24-40 hour period. The power reserve functions as expected as well at around 40 hours. I am very pleased with the choice of movement from Magrette for this Diver. It is something different and not seen every day in the market in a Dive watch.





Strap:The standard straps for this diver are a 24/22mm chocolate brown leather with PVD thumbnail buckle and a 24/22mm black rubber strap with SS buckle. The brown leather strap is about 4mm in thickness and the rubber strap measure in at 4/3mm in thickness. An optional black calf leather strap with red stitching is available and as you will see in the photos below looks fantastic on this particular model and is my preferred strap for this model. The black strap is also 24/22mm and measures in at about 4mm in overall thickness. All straps are of fine quality and are extremely comfortable. The black strap may be the softest strap I have ever felt. I am hoping to see a PVD version of the bracelet that was developed for the SS models.







Lume: Magrette uses sufficient amounts of C3 Superluminova on this particular model. All dial markers and hands except the chrono sweep are lumed. The lume lasts through the night and the afterglow is still present early in the AM hours for viewing the time. I wouldn't classify the lume as superior but it should at the very least be considered extermely good.





Summary: I'm not certain that reviewing goals and objectives for Magrette is as appropriate as I have done in past reviews. Magrette is an established company and this is a newer version of the Moana Pacific Diver, rather than a new model. However if I were to attempt my summary on the grounds of goals and objectives I believe Magrette was attempting to produce one of their first fully mechanical watches with this release and to also release this model at a reasonable price with quality specifications. Based on my peronal observations Magrette has achieved what I see as intended goals with the Moana Pacific PVD Chronograph Diver. The diver has quality specifications ranging from screw down crowns, sapphire crystal, ceramic bezel, quality finishing, very good lume and a solid mechanical movement in the Seagull. All quality specifications and limited to 1000 pieces for what I consider reasonable at under $600 USD. I hope that Magrette will continue to create newer versions of their past models as well as explore the possiblity for new designs. In closing I find the Moana Pacific PVD Chronograph to be a very striking and solid watch that is extremely comfortable to wear.
 
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#2 ·
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This one would fit nicely in a museum. Work of art is an under statement. I've never seen polished black ceramic like that or an exhibition so detailed at that price point. Looks like a steal if that movt is accurate, too. I can easily see why you chose "blown away" to describe the first impression, Michael.

How long are the straps, btw?
 
#3 ·
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Mesh Guy wrote:
This one would fit nicely in a museum. Work of art is an under statement. I've never seen polished black ceramic like that or an exhibition so detailed at that price point. Looks like a steal if that movt is accurate, too. I can easily see why you chose "blown away" to describe the first impression, Michael.

How long are the straps, btw?
I did not measure the straps but my wrist is 7 1/2 to 7 3/4 for perspective purposes. My guess would be a minimum of 130/80. I will try to measure at some point and update or see if the vendor has the specifics on the length.
 
#5 ·
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That is an awesome looking watch! Don't know how I haven't seen the review until now. Basically a very high quality watch all around, shaped like the much more expensive "P" brand with an asian movement. The movement itself looks fantastic. I wonder about the robustness of these but all indications are positve in that respect. I think overall it's much more than you could possibly expect for a watch in that price range...
 
#7 ·
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Mozjo33 wrote:
Fantastic review Mike.  Thanks.

It really is a stunning piece.  I love the look and the size.  Does anyone have any feed back on Seagull Movements? 
I'm not a Seagull guru but I can tell you that this particular movement has been extremely accurate since it arrived.  During a power reserve period I have not had to adjust the time at all.

I think the true test will be longevity.
 
#11 ·
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I absolutely love mine........

 
#12 ·
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congrats! it looks very nice, I had a waych with this movement before and no issues, thought I had issues with a watch that had a simpler Seagull mvt (mil sub), would not hack... but the watch I had with this mvt worked like a champ and was accurate to about 8/day.
The watch is stunning, I can;t wait to see how the case holds up after months or years of wear. It looks like a lot of watch for the money and it certainly is a looker!!
 
#13 ·
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jeep99dad wrote:
The watch is stunning, I can;t wait to see how the case holds up after months or years of wear...
Like anyone on this Forum (especially you and with rare exceptions)hangs on to a watch for more than a few months... Good luck with that!:%
 
#14 ·
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UKWolfeman wrote:
Mesh Guy wrote:
This one would fit nicely in a museum. Work of art is an under statement. I've never seen polished black ceramic like that or an exhibition so detailed at that price point. Looks like a steal if that movt is accurate, too. I can easily see why you chose "blown away" to describe the first impression, Michael.

How long are the straps, btw?
I did not measure the straps but my wrist is 7 1/2 to 7 3/4 for perspective purposes. My guess would be a minimum of 130/80. I will try to measure at some point and update or see if the vendor has the specifics on the length.
I wonder how small of wrist you can have and wear this watch? Sometimes the watch makers forget about us with
smaller (less than 7") wrist...Thanks
 
#16 ·
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Very beautiful watch. Great review marks thanks :)
 
#18 ·
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Not a huge watch by any means. I'd measure your longest watch that means from lug to lug. That will give you some perspective of how this one would sit on your wrist. This one is around 52mm.


altmann62 wrote:
UKWolfeman wrote:
Mesh Guy wrote:
This one would fit nicely in a museum. Work of art is an under statement. I've never seen polished black ceramic like that or an exhibition so detailed at that price point. Looks like a steal if that movt is accurate, too. I can easily see why you chose "blown away" to describe the first impression, Michael.

How long are the straps, btw?
I did not measure the straps but my wrist is 7 1/2 to 7 3/4 for perspective purposes.  My guess would be a minimum of 130/80.  I will try to measure at some point and update or see if the vendor has the specifics on the length.
I wonder how small of wrist you can have and wear this watch? Sometimes the watch makers forget about us with
smaller (less than 7") wrist...Thanks
 
#20 ·
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Mozjo33 wrote:
Fantastic review Mike.  Thanks.

Does anyone have any feed back on Seagull Movements? 
I have few watches on Seagull movements and I can't say any bad word on them.
I don't have any watch on St19, but many of my friends does. Large most of them had ever any problems with them, but in two cases winding system has failure. Maybe it was just coincidence, but maybe this is ST19 "Achilles' heel".
I rather think, that the first option is much more probable.
I'll definitely buy some day chronograph on that movement, because it's gorgeous.
This Magrette looks very nice. This maybe the right choice for me.

Thanks Mike
 
#21 ·
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Great review Mike.

Great looking watch. I like the satin and high polished pvd finish, give it nice contrast and that ceramic bezel is gorgeous.

Another hit for Magrette in my opinion. While the style might not be for everyone, I think if you like cushion case watches like this, its a good choice. Love the 2 eye chrono, as I am not a fan of chronos normally but this is nice and uncluttered.
 
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